Setting Up Shop on the Web The Dos and Don'ts of Web Design

by

Chaelynne M. Wolak wolakcha@scsi.nova.edu

A paper submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for DISS 820 - Assignment One

School of Computer and Information Sciences Nova Southeastern University

November 9, 1999

An Abstract of a Project Report Submitted to Nova Southeastern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Setting Up Shop on the Web The Dos and Don'ts of Web Design
by Chaelynne Wolak November 1999 One could define electronic commerce as buying and selling products or services via the Internet. In essence, though, electronic commerce is about making money in a virtual environment. In order to do this, companies invest thousands of dollars in designing Web sites. However, interface usability is one of the last things, if not the forgotten element during the design of the Web site. Therefore, this project report will be written to address this lack of interface usability when designing electronic commerce Web sites. It will specifically detail Web design dos and donts as it relates to the following: The Web A New Kind of Interface, Navigation, Content, Graphics, Text, Frames, and New Technology. In addition, it will provide an usability study of three electronic commerce Web sites.

Table of Contents
Abstract ii Chapters I. Introduction 1 Problem Statement and Goal 1 Relevance 2 Barriers and Issues 3 Plan and Approach 3 Milestones and Expectations 4 Summary 5 II. Review of the Literature 6 Introduction 6 III. Methodology 9 Research Methods Employed 9 Online Tools and Resources 9 Expectations 9 Reference List 10

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Chapter I Introduction
This project proposal is submitted to obtain approval to complete a project report titled Setting Up Shop on the Web; The Dos and Donts of Web Design. The following introductory sections describe the problem to be investigated, goal to be achieved, and potential barriers and issues expected during the completion of the project report. The introduction also provides the plan and approach of the project along with a timeline of milestones. Problem Statement and Goal Electronic commerce is the capability of buying and selling products and information on the Internet and other online services (Kalakota & Whinston, 1997). Projections of how much money electronic commerce generates appears almost daily. Typical forecasts vary from $800 million to over $1 trillion a year by 2002 (Drobik, Terhune, & Andren, 1999, January 11). Clearly, the Web is being molded into a sales, advertising, and distribution channel for some companies (Rao, Salam, & DosSantos, 1998, March) Almost 87 percent of the sites on the Web are categorized as electronic commerce Web sites (Flanders & Willis, 1998). Many corporations, small businesses, and even nonprofit organizations are exploring this new world of cyberspace. Electronic commerce has the potential to increase corporate profits through better customer acquisition and retention, new information-based products and services, and more efficient operations (Kalakota & Whinston, 1997).

2 Doing business on the Web represents a fundamental paradigm shift in the way businesses operate (Palmer & Griffith, 1998, March). It moves companies beyond traditional physical entities to virtual communities that must compete. "Now more than ever, the promise of electronic commerce and online shopping will depend to a great extent upon the interface and how people interact with the computer" (Lohse & Spiller, 1998, July). Little is known how companies are using the Web to effectively interact with their customers (Palmer & Griffith, 1998, March). In addition, many electronic commerce Web sites are not taking full advantage of the opportunity electronic commerce presents. Bad usability when trying to purchase things online often leads to missed opportunities (Tilson, Dong, Martin, & Kieke, 1998, September). This project report will be written in response to the lack of interface usability when designing electronic commerce Web sites. Many companies have failed to realize poor Web design will have a major impact on profits and their survival in this new online world. Furthermore, the goal of this report will be to provide a framework of Web site design that capitalizes on better interface usability. Relevance This project report will be beneficial to the study of Human Computer Interaction and the future of companies who plan and exist on the Web today. This will be because Web information systems (WIS) designers sometimes do not heed the importance of user interface usability when designing electronic commerce Web sites (Lohse & Spiller, 1998, July). In addition, many companies will benefit since store traffic and dollar sales are a function of the Web site design interface (Lohse & Spiller, 1998, April).

3 This project report will cover the following areas: The Web - A New Kind of Interface Navigation Content Graphics Text Frames New Technology

These areas will be chosen because they represent the most promising effect on Web site usability. By identifying the areas where design improvements can be made, it will have the greatest impact on profitability, survivability, and usability. Barriers and Issues The primary barrier to the successful completion of this project will be the vast quantity of research related to electronic commerce. Due to the rapid nature of this technology, it will be hard to gather, filter, compile, and evaluate the material to determine the appropriateness to this project. Successful completion of this project will also be complicated by the many changes that occur in the area of electronic commerce as well as interface usability. A Web site is a brand new interface that many individuals are still experimenting with in order to optimize user interaction. Plan and Approach The project report will be a research study. It will be formatted in five chapters with the first chapter covering the project's problem statement, goal, relevance, barriers

4 and issues, plan and approach, and milestones. The second chapter will provide a detail review of the literature relevant to this project. The third chapter will describe the research methods, online tools, and resources that will be employed in completing the project report. Also included in this chapter will be the expectations of this project report. The fourth chapter of the project analyzes the seven major areas of Web site design. These areas will be as follows: The Web - A New Kind of Interface, Navigation, Content, Graphics, Text, Frames, and New Technology. This analysis will then be utilized in chapter five to perform an usability study of three existing electronic commerce Web sites. Excluded from this project report will be the details of electronic commerce storefronts, payment systems, security, and obtainment of Web site space. The scope of this project will focus only on the electronic commerce Web design and interface usability. The project will be limited for two reasons. The first is the limited time available to produce the project report, and the second is the amount of detail considered appropriate to focus on Web design and usability. Milestones The scope of the proposed project report is manageable and lends itself to investigation within the given time period. The following is a summary of the milestones for the project along with significant dates. The first milestone was getting topic approval for the project. An email was sent to Dr. Dringus on Tuesday, November 2, 1999 for approval with concurrence on Thursday, November 4, 1999. The next milestone is the approval of the project proposal. This proposal consists of the first three of the five chapters that comprise the project report. The introduction,

5 chapter one, was completed on November 6, 1999. This was followed by completion of the review of literature, chapter two, on November 7, 1999. Methodology, chapter three, was completed on November 8, 1999, and the project proposal was submitted for review by Dr. Dringus on November 9, 1999. After approval of the project proposal is received, the completion of chapters four and five are the last milestones before submitting the final project report. Chapter four is scheduled to be completed by December 21, 1999, and chapter five prior to January 16, 1999. After extensive review and proofreading, the project report will be submitted on January 23, 1999. Summary In summary, the introduction given above described the problem to be investigated, goal to be achieved, and potential barriers and issues expected during the completion of the project paper. Also included were the plan and approach for the project along with a timeline of milestones. In the next chapter, this proposal provides a thorough review of literature relevant to electronic commerce Web site design.

Chapter II Review of the Literature

The review of literature will provide a brief overview of the resources used to complete this project. Included in this review, is how these resources will help contribute to this project. Subject headings will organize the review of literature. Introduction Electronic commerce is a vastly growing field. Many companies want to take full advantage of this revelation in selling products and services. Kalakota (1997) provides an excellent overview of electronic commerce. His definition of electronic commerce sets the stage of how important Web design will be to companies who plan on using the Web to market their products and services. Kalakota dives deep into electronic commerce. His book clarifies management issues surrounding Internet Service Providers, firewalls, transaction security, and electronic payment systems. These areas are not used for this project report but are an excellent source of additional information on the secrets of electronic commerce. In an article about electronic commerce, Drobik (1999) talks about forecasting electronic commerce transactions. Electronic commerce transaction forecasts vary widely because no one has been successful in predicting the Web. His forecast of electronic commerce was used to show that electronic commerce Web sites deal in the millions if not trillions of dollars per year. Therefore, it is important to understand exactly how a company's Web site affects usability and user interaction. Drobik's article further details how electronic commerce forecasts are done as well as the pitfalls. He provides forecast caveats to those who are determining investment

7 for electronic commerce business initiatives. These additional insights were not used but do provide valuable insight to forecasted numbers. Rao (1998) briefly talks about the history of the Internet and marketing. In 1994 electronic commerce transactions were a novelty. Two years later in 1996, online transactions had increased to approximately $500 million. Rao describes the transformation of the Internet becoming the new sales, advertising, and distribution channel for companies. His insight was utilized to show how important the Web and a company's Web site design will be to a company's profitability and survivability. Flanders (1998) is excellent at detailing the dos of Web design by analyzing poor Web sites. His contribution to the introduction shows exactly that the majority of Web sites on the Internet are about making money (i.e. electronic commerce). His book further details Web site design, navigation, content, text, frames, graphics, and the "bleeding edge" technology, which will be described in later sections as these areas will be used for this project report. Palmer (1998) describes the fundamental paradigm shift in the way businesses operate and use the Web. He presents a business model of doing business on the Internet and why it is important to do so. He contends that Web site design can be manipulated to offer market opportunities for product and service branding, interactivity, and information manipulation. This shift in business operations is another reason why Web site design and usability cannot be ignored. Lohse (1998, April) quantifies the effect of the user interface on cyberstore traffic and sales. Using a regression model, he examines the relationship between interface design features and traffic and sales data in order to quantify tradeoffs among different

8 interface design alternatives. This model is then used to improve interface usability. His study exemplifies how important the design of the Web site is for electronic commerce. In another related article, Lohse (1998, July) expands upon his research of traffic and sales being a function of effective customer Web site interfaces. His article is categorized into four major components as it relates to the electronic commerce store. They are merchandize, service, promotion, and convenience. In each of these components, Lohse details the good and bad of Web site design. All of his research is very beneficial to this project. Lastly, Tilson (1998) performs a comparison of two current electronic commerce Web sites. His study used 18 individuals to evaluate four electronic commerce sites. The results are subgrouped into structure and navigation, clicks required to view an item, helpful product organization, scanning and selecting items, returning to different levels after shopping cart addition, obviousness and feedback, and presentation of features. The results of this study will be utilized in chapter four. However, his point that was used in the Introduction is many companies are not taking full advantage of what electronic commerce has to offer; companies are making their Web sites too hard to use. Summary The literature review given above will be organized by subject heading. As chapters four and five are completed, additional resources will be added. Those resources will be detailed as to their relevance to this project report.

Chapter III Methodology

Research Methods Employed The primary research methods to be employed throughout the course of this project will be browser-based Internet searches and textbook readings. The literature reviewed will include textbooks, trade journals, and magazine articles referenced by a selected set of online resources. Relevant textbooks will be located, ordered, and delivered using the Amazon.com Web site. The full text articles from trade journals and magazine articles will be located and subsequently downloaded from a collection of online resources. Online Tools and Resources A variety of online resources will be used to locate and download literature relevant to the goal of the project. These resources will include ACM Search (www.acm.org/dl/Search.html), Electric Library (www.elibrary.com), Gartner Group (www.gartner.com), and ProQuest Direct (proquest.umi.com). All articles from these searches will be analyzed for further references.

Expectations
It is expected that many of the electronic commerce Web sites on the Internet today do not take into account interface usability when designed. It will be expected that upon completion of this project, readers will have a better understanding of how to design their Web sites. In addition, it will be expected that companies will comprehend just how customers interact with them via their Web interface.

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References
Drobik, A., Terhune, A., & Andren, E. (1999, January 11). E-commerce transaction forecasts: Charting the right course. Gartner Interactive [1999, November 2]. Flanders, V., & Willis, M. (1998). Web pages that suck. San Francisco, California: SYBEX Inc. Kalakota, R., & Whinston, A. (1997). Electronic commerce: A manager's guide. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley. Lohse, G., & Spiller, P. (1998, April). Quantifying the effect of user interface design features on cyberstore traffic and sales. Conference Proceedings, ACM, 211-218. Lohse, G., & Spiller, P. (1998, July). Electronic shopping: Designing online stores with effective customer interfaces has a critical influence on traffic and sales. Communications of the ACM, 41(7), 81-87. Palmer, J., & Griffith, D. (1998, March). An emerging model of web site design for marketing. Communications of the ACM, 41(3), 45-51. Rao, H., Salam, A., & DosSantos, B. (1998, March). Marketing and the internet. Communications of the ACM, 41(3), 32-34. Tilson, R., Dong, J., Martin, S., & Kieke, E. (1998, September). A comparison of two current e-commerce sites. Conference Proceedings, ACM, 87-92.